History of Best Actor winners
My verdict year by year on best actor winners.
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- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsBrendan FraserSadie SinkTy SimpkinsA reclusive, morbidly obese English teacher attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter.
- DirectorReinaldo Marcus GreenStarsWill SmithAunjanue Ellis-TaylorJon BernthalA look at how tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams became who they are after the coaching from their father Richard.
- DirectorFlorian ZellerStarsAnthony HopkinsOlivia ColmanMark GatissA man refuses all assistance from his daughter as he ages. As he tries to make sense of his changing circumstances, he begins to doubt his loved ones, his own mind and even the fabric of his reality.Should've won: Yes
Should've been nominated: Comfortable with nominees
Shouldn't been nominated: Comfortable with nominees - DirectorTodd PhillipsStarsJoaquin PhoenixRobert De NiroZazie BeetzDuring the 1980s, a failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City while becoming an infamous psychopathic crime figure.Should've won: Yes
Should've been nominated: Comfortable with nominees
Shouldn't been nominated: Comfortable with nominees - DirectorBryan SingerStarsRami MalekLucy BoyntonGwilym LeeThe story of the legendary British rock band Queen and lead singer Freddie Mercury, leading up to their famous performance at Live Aid (1985).Should've won: Christian Bale for Vice
Should've been nominated:
Shouldn't been nominated: - DirectorJoe WrightStarsGary OldmanLily JamesKristin Scott ThomasIn May 1940, the fate of World War II hangs on Winston Churchill, who must decide whether to negotiate with Adolf Hitler, or fight on knowing that it could mean the end of the British Empire.Should've won:
Should've been nominated:
Shouldn't been nominated: - DirectorKenneth LonerganStarsCasey AffleckMichelle WilliamsKyle ChandlerA depressed uncle is asked to take care of his teenage nephew after the boy's father dies.Should've won: Denzel Washington for Fences
Should've been nominated:
Shouldn't been nominated: - DirectorAlejandro G. IñárrituStarsLeonardo DiCaprioTom HardyWill PoulterA frontiersman on a fur trading expedition in the 1820s fights for survival after being mauled by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team.Should've won:
Should've been nominated:
Shouldn't been nominated: - DirectorJames MarshStarsEddie RedmayneFelicity JonesTom PriorStephen Hawking gets unprecedented success in the field of physics despite being diagnosed with motor neuron disease at the age of 21. He defeats awful odds as his first wife Jane aids him loyally.Should've won: Yes; or Michael Keaton for Birdman
Should've been nominated:
Shouldn't been nominated: - DirectorJean-Marc ValléeStarsMatthew McConaugheyJennifer GarnerJared LetoIn 1985 Dallas, electrician and hustler Ron Woodroof works around the system to help AIDS patients get the medication they need after he is diagnosed with the disease.Should've won: Yes
Should've been nominated:
Shouldn't been nominated: - DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsDaniel Day-LewisSally FieldDavid StrathairnAs the Civil War rages on, U.S President Abraham Lincoln struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on his decision to emancipate the slaves.Should've won: Yes
Should've been nominated:
Shouldn't been nominated: - DirectorMichel HazanaviciusStarsJean DujardinBérénice BejoJohn GoodmanWhen George, a silent movie superstar, meets Peppy Miller, a dancer, sparks fly between the two. However, after the introduction of talking pictures, their fortunes change, affecting their dynamic.Should've won: Yes; or George Clooney for The Descendants
Should've been nominated: - DirectorTom HooperStarsColin FirthGeoffrey RushHelena Bonham CarterThe story of King George VI, his unexpected ascension to the throne of the British Empire in 1936, and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch overcome his stammer.Outstanding performance by Colin Firth as the stammering King George VI which was clearly the best acting of the year. Jesse Eisenberg shouldn't have been nominated, he honestly acted the same as he did in Zombieland (2009), a fast talking stubborn nerd.
Should've won: Yes
Should've been nominated: Ryan Gosling for Blue Valentine
Shouldn’t been nominated: Jesse Eisenberg for The Social Network - DirectorScott CooperStarsJeff BridgesMaggie GyllenhaalColin FarrellA faded country music musician is forced to reassess his dysfunctional life during a doomed romance that also inspires him.Jeff Bridges greatest performance in his career was rightfully awarded with an oscar.
Should've won: Yes
Should've been nominated: - DirectorGus Van SantStarsSean PennJosh BrolinEmile HirschThe story of American gay activist Harvey Milk, who fought for gay rights and was elected as California's first openly gay official.Great performance by Sean Penn as the homosexual legend Harvey Milk. However I feel that his performance too similiar as his I Am Sam (2001) performance. Mickey Rourke probably derserved it more. Leonardo DiCaprio could also have been a deserving pick for his best performance in Revolutionary Road (2008).
Should've won: Yes; or Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler (2008); or Leonardo DiCaprio in Revolutionary Road (2008)
Should've been nominated: Leonardo DiCaprio in Revolutionary Road (2008); Colin Farrell in In Bruges (2008) - DirectorPaul Thomas AndersonStarsDaniel Day-LewisPaul DanoCiarán HindsA story of family, religion, hatred, oil and madness, focusing on a turn-of-the-century prospector in the early days of the business.Outstanding performance by Daniel Day-Lewis[ as an angry greedy oilman. This performance can be consider the best of the decade.
Should've won: Yes
Should've been nominated: Comfortable with nominees - DirectorBennett MillerStarsPhilip Seymour HoffmanClifton Collins Jr.Catherine KeenerIn 1959, Truman Capote learns of the murder of a Kansas family and decides to write a book about the case. While researching for his novel In Cold Blood, Capote forms a relationship with one of the killers, Perry Smith, who is on death row.Should've won: Yes
Should've been nominated: - DirectorKevin MacdonaldStarsJames McAvoyForest WhitakerGillian AndersonBased on the events of the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin's regime as seen by his personal physician during the 1970s.Forrest Whitaker's performance as Idi Amin was outstanding and easily the best acting by an actor in 2006.
Should've won: Yes
Should've been nominated: Comfortable with nominees - DirectorTaylor HackfordStarsJamie FoxxRegina KingKerry WashingtonThe story of the life and career of the legendary rhythm and blues musician Ray Charles, from his humble beginnings in the South, where he went blind at age seven, to his meteoric rise to stardom during the 1950s and 1960s.Should've won: (-)
Should've been nominated: (-) - DirectorClint EastwoodStarsSean PennTim RobbinsKevin BaconThe tragic murder of a 19-year-old girl reunites three childhood friends still living in Boston--the victim's gangster father, a detective, and the disturbed man they both suspect of killing her.Should've won: Yes
Should've been nominated: - DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsAdrien BrodyThomas KretschmannFrank FinlayDuring WWII, acclaimed Polish musician Wladyslaw faces various struggles as he loses contact with his family. As the situation worsens, he hides in the ruins of Warsaw in order to survive.Should've won: Yes; or Daniel-Day Lewis for Gangs of New York; or Nicholas Cage for Adaptation.; or Jack Nicholson for About Schmidt
Should've been nominated: - DirectorAntoine FuquaStarsDenzel WashingtonEthan HawkeScott GlennA rookie cop spends his first day as a Los Angeles narcotics officer with a rogue detective who isn't what he appears to be.Denzel Washington's acting in Training Day was the best of the year. Tom Wilkinson for In the Bedroom comes second.
Should've won: Yes
Should've been nominated: - DirectorRidley ScottStarsRussell CroweJoaquin PhoenixConnie NielsenA former Roman General sets out to exact vengeance against the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery.Should've won: (-)
Should've been nominated: (-) - DirectorSam MendesStarsKevin SpaceyAnnette BeningThora BirchA sexually frustrated suburban father has a mid-life crisis after becoming infatuated with his daughter's best friend.Should've won: (-)
Should've been nominated: (-) - DirectorRoberto BenigniStarsRoberto BenigniNicoletta BraschiGiorgio CantariniWhen an open-minded Jewish waiter and his son become victims of the Holocaust, he uses a perfect mixture of will, humor and imagination to protect his son from the dangers around their camp.Should've won: (-)
Should've been nominated: (-)